Today, administration officials have briefed select Congressional
committees on an issue of great international concern. Until Sept. 6,
2007, the Syrian regime was building a covert nuclear reactor in its
eastern desert capable of producing plutonium. We are convinced, based on
a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria's covert nuclear
activities. We have good reason to believe that reactor, which was damaged
beyond repair on Sept. 6 of last year, was not intended for peaceful
purposes. Carefully hidden from view, the reactor was not configured for
such purposes. In defiance of its international obligations, Syria did not
inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the construction of
the reactor, and, after it was destroyed, the regime moved quickly to bury
evidence of its existence. This cover-up only served to reinforce our
confidence that this reactor was not intended for peaceful activities.

We are briefing the IAEA on this intelligence. The Syrian regime must come
clean before the world regarding its illicit nuclear activities. The
Syrian regime supports terrorism, takes action that destabilizes Lebanon,
allows the transit of some foreign fighters into Iraq, and represses its
own people. If Syria wants better relations with the international
community, it should put an end to these activities.

We have long been seriously concerned about North Korea's nuclear weapons
program and its proliferation activities. North Korea's clandestine
nuclear cooperation with Syria is a dangerous manifestation of those
activities. One way we have chosen to deal with this problem is through
the Six Party Framework. Through this process we are working with our
partners to achieve the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula. The United States is also committed to ensuring that North
Korea does not further engage in proliferation activities. We will work
with our partners to establish in the Six Party Framework a rigorous
verification mechanism to ensure that such conduct and other nuclear
activities have ceased.

The construction of this reactor was a dangerous and potentially
destabilizing development for the region and the world. This is
particularly true because it was done covertly and in violation of the very
procedures designed to reassure the world of the peaceful intent of nuclear
activities. This development also serves as a reminder that often the same
regimes that sponsor proliferation also sponsor terrorism and foster
instability, and cooperate with one another in doing so. This underscores
that the international community is right to be very concerned about the
nuclear activities of Iran and the risks those activities pose to the
stability of the Middle East. To confront this challenge, the
international community must take further steps, beginning with the full
implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions dealing
with Iranian nuclear activities. The United States calls upon the
international community to redouble our common efforts to ending these
activities and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction in this
critical region.